Autographic register



Aug. 10, 1943. H. J. WAECHTER 2,326,109

AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Filed Feb. 20, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Aug. 10, 1943. HLJ, WAECHTER. 2,326,109 I AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Filed Feb. 20, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I INVENTOR.

y BY

Aug. 10, 1943.

H. J. WAECHTER AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Filed Fb. 20, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Aug. 10, 1943 7 purl?so PATENT "OFFICE;

i 2,326,109 1 A TocaArHrc REGISTER Harry J. WaechterQMount Healthy, Ohio, as}

signor to Paul Benninghofen and Fritz G. Diesbach, Hamilton, Ohio, as trustees Application ljebruary 20,1941, Serial No. 379,850

' 7 Claims. (01. 2 82-16) This invention relates to mani folding brcontinuousform stationeryof the type utilized inautographic registers and to the mechanism of these registers for feeding, aligning, and delivering the forms. i More particularly, this invention is directed to improvements in manifoldingstaticnerywhich comprises a'plurality, of-superimposed forms of the type utilizedin autographic registeraand to the cooperating feed mechanisms of these registers; whereby various lengths or forms, within practical limits, may bejfed and J positively aligned during the feeding operation without changing the feeding mechanism to suit the, various lengths of forms. In other wordseby utilizing-the present invention, one standard feed mechanism is provided to, feed and maintain in positive registry, formsoi different lengths.

Thus, it has been an object oi thepresent inventor to provide an autographic register and manifolding stationery for this register whereby accurate and positive alignment'of the forms is made during every feedingoperation and to provide the register with a set of compensating feed rolls for cooperation with: corresponding apertures in the superimposed ro'rms sothat the ;,one

mechanism canbe employed to feed, align, and

dispense forms of widelyvarying lengths.-;

The present inventor has provided an'rautographic register which utilizes cooperating sets of discs or rolls, upper and lower, to feedand align the improved forms by virtue of; their feeds ing relationship to apertures in the forms, The

rolls are manually operated by acrankjwhich is fixed to one end of the shaft carrying thelower set of rolls. The upper rolls are in positive trans: mission connection with the lower rolls by gears, and are carried on a common shaft which is spring urged to provide a peripheral contact between the two sets.

One embodiment of the invention may incorporate three sets of rolls, oneengagingthe strips are substantially delivered; whereupon,,the tread surface of the center roll or disc engages the upper roll through the enlarged apertures in the paper, and the feed isdefinitely'stopped insofar v as the center rollsare concerned. 'Thereupon,

pins associated with the outer, rolls move into engagement with the apertures and feed and align the strips in the final short feeding phase.

The center holes in the paper areof sum cient size to permit lag of the marginal apertures relative to the line of contact oi-the outer rolls, so that the apertures can be entered -bythe pins without tearing the paper. The clearance afforded by'the large centralapertures permits the last feeding phase without any interference from the central rolls. Th ese central rolls continue to engage through the aperture without placing any drag on the strips. r

'The strips, making; up the successive packs of sales forms, include weakened tear-off linesdefining the sales forms or slips. 'Each form ineludes, three apertures which cooperate with the three sets of rollsfl The. central aperture, as stated, is larger than the marginaljapertures, for the purpose of permitting thepreviously described lag' of the marginal apertures and the final aligning feed of the paper without interference from the central set of rolls. These apertureshave their centers in transverse alignment. The side apertures may be spaced anycdesiredldistance from the side edges; that is, theylneed not be. as near the sides as shown; 1 i

The superimposed strips are fed through, the rolls in three stages; one, a major feeding operation', in which all three sets of rolls advance the strips; two, an adjusting feeding operation in which the compensating rolls are employed to feed the strips; and three, a minor feeding operation wherein the strips are'absolutely aligned and the forms dispensed. i'. v V H In the first stage, the, strips are always advanced a distance slightly less than the shortest form to be used. In'this'stage all three of the lower feed rolls engage the strips, I

In the'second staseiieeding o the strips by means of the'two marginalised rolls is discontinued as engagement by the. tread. portions ceases. Thereupon, the compensating feed roll alone'is efiective. The compensating feed roll advances the strips until the central apertures in the superimposed forms are all aligned between the compensating rolls. At this time, the feeding contact of the compensating-rollswith the strips is broken since the rolls contact each other through the central apertures; Thus, it will be obvious that within practical limits, any length of form may be dispensed. A

In the third stage or phase of feed, which is referred to as the aligning phase, the pins-associated with the outer feed rolls become e'iiective tures.

i l-cooperate with the outer feed rolls as I of the strips for-record purposes.

by engagement within the lagging marginal aper- At this time, of course, the outer feed rolls are out of engagement with the strips and the pins may move in easily advance the strips by engagement with the forward walls of the marginal apertures. At this time, the'strips slip forwardly between the central rolls within the clearance aiiforded by the large apertures.

The manifold pack or continuous form station ery disclosed in this application is disclosed and claimed in a copending divisional application filer] ea. 30, 1942, and bearing Serial No. 470,632.

Other objects and certain advantages of the present invention will be more fully. appareni accompanying drawa from a description of the ings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an autographic register embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1, in which the cover has been lifted back to expose the feeding mechanism and the writing platen, the stationery having been remcyedl Figure 3 is a. longitudinal sectional view taken and near the conclusion of their strip advancing movement. a Figure 8 is a sectional view taken similar to Figured, but showing the compensating rollsin positio where they'register with the central apertures andar'e in the idling oradiustingiportion oftheirrotationf Figure 9 is, ase cti onal view taken similar to of operation by a pair of spring-urged push pins extending from the side wall of the casing to interlock with the crank handle. Only one of these pins is shown at 25. When the handle is looked against rotation, the push pin, as a stop or limit against further rotation of the handle,

isexposed and is accessible to the operator. By depressing the pin, the handle is released for a successive or subsequent cycle of operation. This type of stop or its equivalent is well known in the art and further illustration and description is believed unnecessary.

Thestrip feeding mechanism includes a set of upper rolls comprising an upper feeding or translating roll 25 at each side, and the long, upper compensating or adiusting feed roll 21 disposed between the rolls 215, 2 6.- The upper rolls are carried on a common shaft 28' which is journalled invertical slots 29 in an elongated journal box 3 0. The shaft is urged downwardly by means of coil springs 3 I3i seated under compression in the journal box above the verticalslots. A pair of seats 3232-provides for exertion of the spring pressure on the shaft. "The journalbox is fixed Figure '7, but showing the'outer feed rolls iii-the I same relativ position as the compensating rolls are, shown in Figure 8 .for illustrating the feeding pins about to come into engagement within-the apertures for thefinal advance and adjustment phaseiofstripmovement.

' "The continuous strips of forms illustrated here the head end of each form justback of t .e tear line. Thisaperture cooperates with the compensating rolls. Justjback "of the lines 12 in' each case'are the apertures M, one adjacent each "side or? the strip and in alignment with the central aperture, crosswise of the strip. These apertures will be described later .in the specification. Referring to the drawings, 15 indicates the easing of an auto'graphic register providingian in teriorcompartment [6 for a supply of'zig-zag folded manifold ror'ms l 1 andastorage compartment I8 for receiving in' refolded condition V This latter compartment, however, may be omitted where all strips of the pack are to be fielivered from the machine. The strips iareied over a writing table or platen J9 whicli'lis disposed within the, casing above the supply compartment. The platen. i9 is hinged as at ZllLaIt its rear edge to the sidewal s of the casin and is adapted to be swung upupon a cross section of a frame 33 which covers the top of the machine in a slightly elevated positionfrom the writing table. The irameis provided with an-opening for exposing a form section of the strip uponthe platen and'is hinged :at its forward end to the casing so that it can be swung upwardly for access to the writing-table for loading-the machine. 1 I v The lower rolls are substantially-larger than the upper rolls and include a pair of feeding rolls 34-34 and an adjusting or compensating feed roll 35 The shafts upon which theuppe-r and lower rolls are carried arein positive transmiss-ion connection through meshing pinions 36 and 31 respectively. Each roll '34 carries again 38 extending radially slightly beyond the line of theperiphery of the roll. The pins may be made integrally with'tliefeed rolls, as shown, and are positioned on the inside "of the roll ineach case. Th compensating feedroll 35 is mounted on the shaft 24 medially, between the two feed rolls.

The-adjusting or compensating feed roll -35 has a continuous tread; thatis to say, at no point is itrelieved. Thus, it is continuously effective for feeding the paper until it has fed thestrips to bring the central apertures in registry between it and its upper roll as illustrated in Figure 8. The outer 'feed' rolls 3!- prov-ide-tread portions iii! extending around approximately two-thirds of their circumferences. Th balance of theouter surface of the outer'i-eedrolis is relieved as at through the compensating apertures.

The crash pensating rolls located centrally of the machine, 7

Operation As'illustrated in Figures 6 and '7, the feed is nearing the end of the first phase; that is, the phase in which the compensating roll and the feeding rolls are all acting on the strips to advance the same. When the forms have been advanced to that point where the terminals of the tread portions on the feed rolls are reached, the outer feed rolls discontinue feed, and the second phase of the feeding operation begins; Obviously, at this point, the pressure of the feed rolls is released on the strips and only the compensating roll is effective. Thus, the spacing of the holes in the strips; that is, the length of the sales forms, inayfbe varied Within rea, sonable limits, which limits are determined bythe diameter of the central or compensating disc.

The compensating roll will continue to feed As shown in Figure 8, these compensating rolls also serve to pre-align, as iswell known in the art, so that if one or more of the forms is lagging, the first form to reach the compensating rolls, will stop when its particular aperture advances out of feeding contact with the compensating rolls, and the rolls will therefore continue to contact the lagging forms and advance them until all of the apertures register and the compensating rolls contact each other through the apertures, as illustrated.

At this point the feeding pins (Figure 9) are moving up under. the strips and will slip across the back margins of the marginal apertures into the apertures for engagement with the front walls of the apertures. These marginal apertures lag slightly back of a line drawn between the centers of the feeding rolls, thus permitting en try of the pins without damage to the strips, such as would be the case if the apertures were too far advanced. Therefore, in this final phase of strip advance, the strips are completely aligned; that is to say, the apertures are aligned since the pins contact the forward walls of the apertures and advance the strips by direct contact with the forward edges of the apertures, thus pulling them all into aligned contact against the forward faces of the pins.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In an autographic register, a platen over which superimposed continuous strips of forms are adapted to be moved, sets of rolls engaging the strips therebetween, said strips including three apertures in each form thereof disposed which continuous strips of sales forms are adapted to be fed, sets of feed rolls adapted to engage the continuous strips therebetween for feeding the strips, one roll of one of said sets of feed rolls having a'continuous tread surface extending entirely around its periphery, said tread surface adapted to register with apertures in the strips for idle movement when the apertures are reached, and another set including a roll providing a tread surface of much shorter length than V the tread surface of the first-named roll, said tread surface of said second-named roll being effective for causing the feed of the strips, and means associated with the second-named roll, engageable in apertures in the strips for starting the feed of the strips just prior to the time that the respective tread surfaces engage the strips.

3. In an autographic register, a platen over which continuous strips of sales forms are adapted to be fed, sets of feed rolls adapted to engage the continuous strips therebetween for feeding the strips, one roll of one of said sets of feed rolls having a continuous tread surface extending entirely around its periphery and another set including a roll providing a tread surface of much shorter length than the tread surface of the first-named roll, and means on said 7 latter roll for starting the feed of the stripsjust prior to the time that its tread surface engages the strips;

4. In an autographic register, a platen over which continuous strips of sales forms are adapted to be fed, each of said sales forms including feeding and aligning apertures, one of said apertures being larger than the othersand located centrally of the strips and the others located adjacent the side edges of the strips, feedingrolls between and by which said strips are adapted to be fed, that feed roll disposed in aligninent with the central aperture having its tread portion extending entirely around its periphery, the other rolls having partial tread surfaces, and starting pins projecting radially from the said other rolls; just ahead of said tread portions thereof, whereby the central roll will continue to feed the strips after the ends of the tread Portions of the latter rolls are reached and until the central apertures of the strips are disposed between the compensating rolls and feeding contact ceases, whereupon the feed will be continued for an aligning period when said pins engage in the apertures.

5. In an autographic register, a platen over which superimposed continuous strips of sales forms are adapted to be fed, sets of rolls for feeding said strips therebetween, at least one of the rolls having a tread surface shorter than another of the rolls and of a length less than required to feed the shortest sales form completely, said strips including central apertures adapted to cause discontinuance of the feed of the strips when the latter roll having the longer tread is aligned with said aperture, and means on the roll having the short tread engageable with apertIXI'ES the stripa'fer: aligning final stage-ef strip-feeda- 6; In an autographie reg is'ter, a which continuous strips of sales forms-- are adapted tebe fed, said;- sa'tle forms including feed-ingand aligning apertures; one ofsaid apex turesbeing located centrally of thestri ps' andthe otherslocatedadjacent the side edges 0f the strips, feeding rolls betweenand'by which said strips areadapted tote fed, that feed rel-P disposed forregistry with the centralaperture-hav-- ing itstrea-d portion extending entirety around its periphery; thenther roilshaving shorter tread the fbr'ms in: the:

surfaces; and starting pins projecting rad i-allyfrom-the said otherrei-ls'jus't-in front of their tread'pnrti'ons; whereby the central r011 Willem-1- time to feed the strips a-i ter'the ends of the: tread portions of said other rolls are reaeh'ed until 'the central" apertures of the strips are dis posed between the rolls of the eentral set of platen-- over rolls and feeding contact/ceases between the centralsetof rolls and the strips-and whereupon the 7 feed will be continued for an aligning 'period when the pins engage in the apertures.

'7. In an autographic register, a platen 'o-ver which superimposed continuous strips of sales forms are adapted to be fed, setsof rol'ls for feedingsaid stripstherebetween, oneof said roll's constituting a compensating. roll and providing a tread surface adapted to feedthe continuous strips of sales forms until the apertures. therein are disposed adjacent the aforesaid tread-surface, said sets of rolls providing means for engaging in apertures in the strips of sales forms for aligning the forms and advancing them to final position, and; means for initially starting the feed of the" paper, following thecomplete feed of a set of forms, for feeding the next succeeding set of forms. ,7 r

' HARRY J', WAECH-TER. 

